In this two-volume work, writing for a general audience, Dr Michael Gurvitch proposes a unifying concept of electronics which combines the history of electronics with the science of evolution. Drawing on his long experience in scientific development, Gurvitch illuminates electronics from the inside using the point of view of a practicing scientist. What is elusive and often overlooked becomes palpable, engaging and even humorous with the author's tireless and methodical exposition of fundamental scientific roots from which electronics grew and continues to grow.
This set contains both volumes of Brave New e-World, presenting the historical review of electronics from the middle of the 18th century to the present day. From the telegraph to the quantum computer and superconductors, Gurvitch combines personal recollections with scientific knowledge to advance the final thesis: the representation of a new non-biological evolution in electronics. This is all done in an intellectually engaging way: spiced by historical anecdotes, warmed by Gurvitch's enthusiastic love for science, and completed with the full participation of the reader. The concluding argument on electronic evolution is alarming, but it might prove to be a necessary concern in the continual development of electronic technologies.
Contents:
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Volume 1: Electronics from Telegraph to Computer:
- Acknowledgements
- About This Book
- What is Electronics?
- The Birth of Electronics: Electric Telegraph
- Hearing Far-Away Voices: The Telephone
- Wireless Telegraph, Radio, Television, and Radar
- Vacuum Tubes, Amplification, and Feedback
- Computers and Artificial Intelligence
- Quantum Mechanics and Quantum Computers
- References
- Index
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Volume 2: Electronic Technologies, Devices and Their Evolution:
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Introduction to Volume 2
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Semiconductors and the Transistor
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Silicon Technology
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III-Vs and Optoelectronics
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Superconductivity and Superconductor Electronics
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Biological Evolution
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Are There Non-Biological Evolutions?
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Evolution in Electronics
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Appendices:
- Bio-Electronic Analogs
- E-Genes in Electric Telegraph
- Anticipating the Rules Governing E-gene Counting
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References
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Index
Readership: General educated layperson; enthusiasts in: history of science, electronics, genetics; physicists.
Key Features:
- A unique book about electronics as a whole, which is not often found in the market as many books only discuss subfields of electronics
- Ambitious and logical, presents an exciting paradigm shift using scientific history and biological evolution, ending with a conclusion not found in any other book
- Combines the perspectives of a practicing scientist with an account of history, so that readers can appreciate the beauty and excitement of electronics development in the past
- Immensely readable for the general audience, not too scholarly or complicated; any scientific concepts needed are explained thoroughly
